Cigarettes lead Tokelau’s annual CPI rise

Cigarettes lead Tokelau’s annual CPI rise for
second consecutive quarter

Friday, 31
January 2014, 12:00 pm (SDT)

The consumer price
index (CPI) for Tokelau increased 2.1 percent for the year
to the December 2013 quarter, the Tokelau National
Statistics Office said today.

“The largest group
contribution to the annual increase of 2.1 percent came from
the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group, up 8.8
percent,” said National Statistician Kele Lui,
“Cigarettes were again the most significant driver of the
increase, with prices up 12.3 percent for the year."

“In Tokelau, each nuku sets its own pricing policies.
Sometimes the price a consumer pays for one good might be
increased, in order to decrease the price of another
good,” said Mr Lui.

During the September 2013 quarter
the consumer price for cigarettes was increased by nuku
policy.

This continues to have a significant impact on
the annual CPI movement.

By group, the largest downward
contribution for the year to December came from the food and
nonalcoholic beverages group, down 2.7 percent. The key
individual downward contribution came from lower prices for
chicken pieces, down 10.3 percent.

“While the CPI has
increased for the year to the December quarter, families in
Tokelau will be pleased to note that the price of food and
non-alcoholic beverages has decreased for the year,” said
Mr Lui.

For the December 2013 quarter, the CPI rose by
3.0 percent.

For the quarter the main upward contribution
came from the food and non-alcoholic beverages group, up 4.0
percent. Higher prices for washing powder (up 63.5 percent)
made the most significant upward contributor for the
group.

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